The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Guest Author - Andria Bobo

We as human beings all have inherent and inalienable rights. These rights must be respected in order for there to be any sort of peace in the world. The importance and beauty of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is that it articulates some of the most important fundamental human rights, and its adoption by the United Nations set forth the standard for the protection of those rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created was created shortly after World War II, in hopes that the atrocities of that war would never be repeated again. Originally intended to be a sort of International Bill of Rights, it took about two years for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be written. It was drafted by a number of people on the Commission on Human Rights, led by Eleanor Roosevelt. Once the document was drafted, it was adopted on December 10, 1948 by 48 votes of the General Assembly with no votes against it and eight abstentions.

There are 30 distinct articles and a preamble in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which outline our basic human rights. The preamble declares that all people have inalienable human rights, all are equal, and all have dignity, and as such it is important to protect those human rights by law. It also states the importance of States abiding by its principles and keeping the Declaration in mind at all times in order to promote respect for human rights and ensure their recognition. Some of the human rights specifically mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights include the right to life, freedom from discrimination, the right to an education, and the right to marriage and to form families.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guides nations today in policy making and determining whether human rights are being violated or respected in various circumstances. Its words are timeless and of great value to our world. I challenge each of you to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for yourselves and discover exactly what your human rights are - you may find out that you have rights you didnít realize you had!